Scared of the terminal or can't be bothered to remember those commands to customize your system the way you want? MacPilot is your digital savior. Easily enable and disable hidden features in Mac OS X.

Power Unlocked

With the power of UNIX and the simplicity of Macintosh, you have a phenomenal amount of untapped power in your hands! Use MacPilot to unlock over 1,200 features, and access them all with the easy and familiar Macintosh user interface. No command line tools or complicated file operations!

Display hidden files in the Finder, disable the startup chime, add spacers and stacks to the Dock, change the screenshot file format, run maintenance tools, tweak network settings, force empty the Trash, and tons more. Keep yourself in awe and busy for days as you discover how much Mac OS X has "under the hood".

Configured something by mistake and want it back to factory settings? Simply right-click the feature and choose "Set to Default" or click the main "Reset All" button on each tab.

The Wow Factor

Get out of the passenger seat and take control of your Mac. Set your login window picture, use the screensaver as your Desktop, modify advanced file permissions (ACL), change the system welcome message, enable simultaneous recordings in QuickTime, view system logs, or enable the Debug menu in numerous apps.

Reference

Ditch Duplicates

Using the most sophisticated and safe algorithm in the industry, MacCleanse can identify and flag duplicate copies of files.

Maintenance

Optimize and repair your system by running common maintenance scripts such as cron, launch services, and prebinding. Reset the download quarantine list, force empty the trash, rotate system logs and reclaim inactive system RAM.

Single-Click Access

Easily access the Bluetooth, Certificate, Directory, RAID, Printing System assistants that are normally buried deep in the system.

File Browser

Browse the computer while showing all invisible and system files. View incredibly detailed file specifications, and edit advanced settings such as extended attributes, POSIX and ACL Permissions, and hard locks that make files un-deletable.

Fully Loaded

Over 1,000 features to tweak your Mac experience and optimize your experience!

Finder

Toggle animations, show the Quit menu, show the file path in the window titlebar, use your screensaver as the desktop, show hidden files, disable features, and more.

Dock

Add spacers and smart stacks/menus, show only open apps, lock settings, toggle the open app indicator light, fade icons for hidden apps, and change many other interface effects and features.

Startup

Safari

Disable spell checking, set Find on Page to use 'starts with' instead of 'contains', disable site icons, disable caching, show the Develop or Debug menu, change the User Agent string, make the Delete key go back to the previous page, and more!

Slim Apps

Extract only PowerPC or Intel version from an app.

Easy Access

One-click access to internal system tools like the Bluetooth, Certificate, RAID, or Directory assistant.

Info

Automation

Save a system configuration for easy deployment across numerous systems or after a system restore.

Advanced

View an advanced feature list that has hundreds of additional untested, but reported, tweaks for all versions of Mac OS X dating back to 10.0.

For the full or trial version of our app, please use the download links below. After installation, the trial will automatically begin. For users owning a valid license, unlock the software via the "Unlock Product..." menu item if necessary.

Must set the system date prior to April 4, 2010 for this version to work. We accidently left the beta expiry tag on. Reported as Mac OS X 10.5 and higher, but may still work on Mac OS X 10.4 and lower.

MacPilot is the best of its kind that I've used. It gets updated the most frequently, the developer is the most responsive to support and ideas, and it's functionality is just the smoothest I've seen yet. This is a must-have for all you die-hard Mac fans out there, and even those who aren't die-hards. This is just an essential app for everybody. Go for it.

Evan Rossi

MacPilot combines everything you've ever imagined were possible with your Mac and packages it into one simple little $20 payment. I'm still reeling a bit over the price of this one. You don't expect it to do all that it does for that cheap! Finally an app that gives back way more than what you initially paid for it. I'm impressed. Very impressed. Awestruck, even.

Mahalia Thompson

Wow. I had no idea so many hidden features were tucked away inside my Mac. The level of customizability that this app reveals is just insane. Whether it's something as simple as putting spacers in my Dock and muting the startup chime or something as obscure as configuring iPhoto to have a certain opacity in its adjustment windows, it's all here… all just one click away. Seriously.

Sheralyn Comby

I've heard of being able to modify the way your Mac works with terminal commands and messing around with all that stuff, but I've always been too afraid to try it. For that reason alone, I'm glad I discovered this app! MacPilot is a safe way to screw around and discover things you never even imagined were possible with your Mac. Don't like the modification you just did? Just click the button again. It's honestly that simple.

Landon Spears

I feel like the word "tweak" is an understatement. You can do SO much with this application. More than you can even imagine. I promise you.

Riley Shore

It's like my computer just turned into a Swiss Army Knife! I'll admit I was expecting to be impressed, but I ended up being entirely blown away by the functionality of MacPilot altogether. I'm going to be discovering and re-discovering this one for a while, I'm sure. This app is just spilling over with hidden features for your Mac. Seriously… who knew?

Brent Janson

Amazing how much Apple has hidden to streamline the average user experience. MacPilot gives those decisions to you. Now you can hide or show as much or as little as you want. There are basically no limits here! It's like rediscovering your Mac all over again from the top down, which I'm sure many would agree is a truly magical experience.

Larry Hadwin

Some things this app has shown me are things I didn't even know I needed but can't live without now. And it just does so much that I feel like I'm discovering new things about it all the time. Absolutely genius, this one.

Jacob Plante

This is an all-in-one app to the power of eighty-four! It does EVERYTHING. I'm absolutely amazed at how much I can customize my Mac with this thing. Who knew there were so many hundreds of hidden features in every Mac out there? It just blows my mind.

Kody Lapsang

I feel like I'm never going to need another app for as long as I live. This one does it all. Everything. Even things you wouldn't expect - seriously, it's all here. I can't even express how much I have to recommend MacPilot. Everyone and their dog should own it. Hands down.

Martin Zacher

All of our products come with a full set of licensing options: from single users and households to small businesses and larger corporations.

Small Business$129.00

Corporate$295.00

Our manual is always expanding! While we strongly believe our products as so intuitive you shouldn't need a manual, there are exceptions now and then. If you feel there is something missing from the documentation, please contact us.

Occasionally, it will appear that the startup chime is not being muted. And, in functionality, this may be correct. However, in technicality it has been. Sound like techno babel? Perhaps a bit. To explain this, we need to go into a bit of detail. The feature does work perfectly if the system configuration does not change. MacPilot looks at the current volume for the current output channel (speakers, headphones, internal speaker, etc.). Then, on shutdown, it saves the system volume level for that output level and mutes the system. If the audio output source changes between shutdown and boot, the chime will be muted for the wrong source. For instance, if you shutdown while headphones were plugged in and then booted with speakers plugged in, the system would notice the headphones were no longer plugged in and revert to the volume settings for the speakers instead of being muted. Unfortunately, as it currently stands, there is no easy workaround for this as it is just how Mac OS X is programmed. Each output source will always have its own unique volume settings. Since MacPilot is not running while your computer is off or while it is starting up, there is no way for the program to determine the correct source of action if the volume output location has been modified.

What are the gold badges next to features?

These gold badges indicate the logged-in user must be an administrator to change this feature.

Where is the documentation?

Aside from this documentation, many of the features have help tags associated with them. In the main list, the blue-grey bar to the right describes the currently highlighted feature. In other areas, moving the mouse over a control and pausing will show a tooltip. At this time, these are the only help features we offer. For additional assistance, please Contact Support.

"Dashed" checkbox - what does it mean?

The dashed checkbox means the feature has not been configured, and is using the operating system default setting whichever that may be.

Creating and Restoring Save Points

Save Points allow you to create a list of saved settings in MacPilot. This can be useful to deploy a series of settings across multiple computers, on a new installation, or revert to an earlier state.

Create a Save Point

Click the General tab on the main toolbar.

Configure settings as desired.

Press the "Create Save Point" button at the bottom right-hand corner of the window.

Drag the configured settings into the save point list.

Press the "Save..." button.

Restoring to a Save Point

Click the General tab on the main toolbar.

Configure settings as desired.

Press the "Load Save Point" button at the bottom right-hand corner of the window.

Choose the Save Point file.

Follow all on-screen prompts (if any).

Feature Requests

Safari

Safari > Close download window on interval.

Have the tabs in Safari at a set width. (Currently they resize themselves depending on how many tabs are open.)

Preference/option to require password for MacPilot prior to launching.

Collapsible panes for standard procedures to replace the current progress window.

MacPilot Log that shows all modifications made by MacPilot.

Show current/default values for reference.

Tools->Locate->Search progress bar/wheel/something.

Tools->Manuals->man [commandname] direct.

Save Points Manager should be much nicer.

Drag & Drop Login Items.

Selectable command text in help bar of main window.

Hide features for VERSIONS of apps that aren't installed.

"Show Library Playlist" feature "cannot be used in this version of MacPilot" for some reason.

"Simple" saved-states for main window only that will "snapshot" current settings and allow resorting at a later date.

Removing Spacers From the Dock

Spacers can be removed by dragging them out of the Dock as you would an application or file icon, or by right/control-clicking on the spacer and selecting "Remove from Dock."

What are the gold badges next to features?

These gold badges indicate the logged-in user must be an administrator to change this feature.

Where is the documentation?

Aside from this documentation, many of the features have help tags associated with them. In the main list, the blue-grey bar to the right describes the currently highlighted feature. In other areas, moving the mouse over a control and pausing will show a tooltip. At this time, these are the only help features we offer. For additional assistance, please Contact Support.

Known Issues

Changing the AFP and SSH port do not work on Leopard.

Cannot sort login items like in previous versions.

LoginHooks have been depreciated in Yosemite (10.10) and therefore, startup volume/unmute is not restored!

Perhaps the download warning is not being removed properly (need to verify this).

Occasionally, it will appear that the startup chime is not being muted. And, in functionality, this may be correct. However, in technicality it has been. Sound like techno babel? Perhaps a bit. To explain this, we need to go into a bit of detail. The feature does work perfectly if the system configuration does not change. MacPilot looks at the current volume for the current output channel (speakers, headphones, internal speaker, etc.). Then, on shutdown, it saves the system volume level for that output level and mutes the system. If the audio output source changes between shutdown and boot, the chime will be muted for the wrong source. For instance, if you shutdown while headphones were plugged in and then booted with speakers plugged in, the system would notice the headphones were no longer plugged in and revert to the volume settings for the speakers instead of being muted. Unfortunately, as it currently stands, there is no easy workaround for this as it is just how Mac OS X is programmed. Each output source will always have its own unique volume settings. Since MacPilot is not running while your computer is off or while it is starting up, there is no way for the program to determine the correct source of action if the volume output location has been modified.

Users owing an active subscription to this product will get it automatically without additional cost. This upgrade is also free if ordering a non-subscription version within the last year. Visit your account and click the Upgrade link to obtain a free copy.